Sydney pinch win over Wellington
Sydney FC scored a late goal to evade a draw against the Phoenix on Saturday.
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Sydney FC striker Richard Garcia believes his teammates' growing mental strength was the deciding factor in their 2-1 victory over Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
The Sky Blues looked to have squandered victory when Kenny Cunningham volleyed home an injury-time equaliser, only for Sydney to reply in the dying seconds through debutant striker Ranko Despotovic.
The win was all the more meritorious because of Pedj Bojic's second-half dismissal, and Garcia is adamant the win proves the team is tougher than many think.
Self-confidence: Richard Garcia scored for Sydney against Wellington. Photo: Getty Images
''You never say never in football, and we're certainly of that view. It's just testament to the guys that we've got that belief in the squad,'' he said on Sunday.
''It's a great sign that we've got that never-say-die attitude. We just hung in there, and when we needed a winner, we went and found it. That's because we believe in ourselves.''
However, the 32-year-old admitted it hadn't been the best performance to that point, and the win was more about finding a way rather than blowing the visitors away. ''We're ecstatic about the result because the team didn't play the greatest, but we know that good teams stick together and keep going,'' he said. ''Especially after the back-to-back wins, it's always important to try and get a third win. Now there's some real momentum.''
Garcia was most pleased for coach Frank Farina, the man who brought him to Sydney and had been - until this winning streak - under pressure to keep his job.
''I think he's the one who has been making sure that we know about the pressure that comes along with playing for Sydney FC. It's a massive club, and they expect results,'' he said. ''It's not just our fans - the whole league expects us to play well. When you lose a few games, people jump on your back, which is expected, so I think Frank has been prepared for that and how to turn it around.''
Having risen to fourth, the question is whether Sydney are capable of keeping up the pace with the competition's top teams.
''We need to keep working hard and, slowly, our structures and combinations are getting better and better,'' Garcia said. ''We showed glimpses of what we can produce against Wellington but we want to keep building on it and make that a regular occurrence.''
Garcia crossed words with a fan on Twitter earlier in the season when he asked for time for the team to get to know each other, largely because of the significant player turnover in the off-season.
''We always knew it was going to take time for the squad to gel because we're a fairly new group and we've tried to bring through a different style,'' he said. ''We're going well but we're not there yet, so we can't get carried away with ourselves. It's still very early in the campaign.''
While Garcia has been an unqualified success as a lone striker, opening the scoring twice in the past three games, the arrival of Despotovic might have him revert to an attacking midfield role.
''I think that's up to Frank and Rado Vidosic [assistant coach] to play that card,'' he said.
''If that means Ranko takes the No.9 spot and I'm one of the three behind, that's no issue for me.
''As long as we continue to win, that's great. If I have to change roles, so be it.''
Garcia did his claims to keep the position no harms with a blistering strike from outside the box in the first half, one that gave Phoenix keeper Glen Moss no chance.
''I got the ball out wide, and Ali [Abbas] made a great run. He took the defender away from me for a couple of yards, and that gave me a chance to make a forward run,'' he said. ''He really opened up that opportunity for me, and when you get in that range, you've got to go for it. Lucky enough it was a good strike and it went in. It's another goal to my name, and hopefully there's a few more of those throughout the season.''
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